Getting married in a back yard with a tent?

I like this...

That is very pretty, are those little white christmas lights? Lighting was proving to be a challenge as well.

Have you met with your rental company yet? Usually, a tent liner needs to be installed prior to lifting the tent up. Fabric draping is also possible, but you'll need a scissor lift to reach the poles. Your best bet is to just work with the tent company with this, they should have decor options. I also recommend having the poles draped in order to hide them. Now, I've seen tent rentals go all the way up to $10-20K after all the decor & lighting. Sometimes it is more cost effective to rent a banquet hall. It doesn't hurt to get a quote though

Yes they are christmas lights since your wedding is after christmas you can stock up when they are on sale. That will save money.

I've read that you can use the rolls of plastic table covers (Party City has them) for fabric draping and you can't tell that it's not fabric and it costs WAY less than fabric.

In Feb., you'll probably also have to rent heaters to warm the tent. And rent a dance floor.

The tent rental company MAY provide the lights -- check with them before buying any.

You'll have to rent tables & chairs.

A reception hall that already has heat, tables, chairs, lighting may be less expensive.

Here is some ideas for a tent wedding hope they help

I'm renting a community center for $300. You might want to see if you have something like that in your area.

The tent rental company should be able to provide drapery and lighting to decorate- get an estimate though, we were going to do a tented backyard wedding but it ended up being cheaper to rent a venue.

Where do you live? I see your wedding is in February, would it be too cold for a tent?

Before you really pursue this, I'd talk to a local rental company and get prices. Tenting is actually very expensive- than you have to decorate it from the ground up. You have to add in the cost of renting tables, chairs, linens, etc. The tent alone will be a couple hundred bucks, then adding in the rest...

If your budget is that tight, you may want to consider a mid-afternoon where you don't need a tent. It may nto be ideal- but February may not be the best month for that. I'd consider moving it to April- when it's a bit warmer out, but not too warm yet.

Tents and events is what my FH does for a living and it can get VERY expensive even with his employee discount the cost for a tent big enough to hold 80 or so ppl was much more than it would have been to rent out our venue. We got it on a Firday so the cost for the actual venue was free but if we had opted for a Saturday it would have been $1200 and the tent with decor and everything would have been over $2000.00 then you need to add on the cost for renting table, chairs and linens ... alot of time the all inclusive venues are MUCH cheaper!

If you're in an area where it rains or snows in February, then make sure your tent is weatherproof!

Paper lanterns and twinkle lights would be enough I think

Oh! one other thing… You should have a rental consultant go out to the event space to give you a realistic quote. In CA, because of the fire codes, tents can't be erected within 20 feet of a building which can make backyard weddings trickier~ Call the rental company.

Thank you all for the advice, we live in NC near the beach so although we have winter, it normally is very mild. I have looked into the costs of the different places in the area and I have yet to find one for under 800 +tables, chairs, dance floor ect. but we are still looking .

Exactly- $800 will get you a hall. We are renting a mansion for $480 for the day! It includes all the tables and chairs we need.

Look into historical societies, or various councils. I bet you could get a real venue for less than $800- and it probably won't require as much decorating.

I'm having a tented reception. It's NOT cheap. In fact, if I wanted to save money that would have been the FIRST thing I would switch. My tent is 40x60 for 100 guests (that's the minimum size recommended for 100 people) and is $700 alone. Add in chairs and tables and porta potties and glaswsware and a dance floor - man, you're looking around 2k-3k. I agree with everyone else: a tent reception is not the cheapest way to go. Keep looking for other venues and contact rental people to get quotes.

Hi Aida, I agree with Brian and Meghan as well. Tenting and all of the items needed to have an event can be more costly then renting a venue. Kimberly also mentioned another good point about fire codes and permits you may have to obtain depending on how large the tent is, not to mention parking for your guests and bathroom accommodations. Compare the costs for both and see what you come up with. Best of luck!

I'm not sure about cost but I think a tent in the backyard is a very enchanting idea!!!!